The Power of Pocahontas

Katie's Commonplace Blog: Pocahontas as a Character in America's Story: "When learning about Pocahontas, I would have to say my understanding of her is much more in character, than in symbol or historical figure. ..."

The Cavalier and the Princess

Reading Katie's post I begin to consider that the symbolic potency of Pocahontas may be rooted in the fact that while we have so few facts about her, we are confident that she was a historical figure.  Although the characters we create -- in film, in paintings, in poetry -- may not be accurate, the tenuous connection to a real person gives those images the energy of truth and allows Pocahontas to become part of our national mythology.  Here I use myth in the sense of a powerful story that shapes lives.  Even if the young Pocahontas did not save either John Smith or the whole Jamestown Colony, for good and for ill, her mythic self has shaped generations of Americans sense of what being American involves.  (See the accompanying image celebrating the tricentennial of Jamestown.)